1. Balloon Systems Technical Committee 2006 Overview

2. AIAA Balloon TC Membership and Meetings 21 Regular Members including 3 International Members 12 from industry 6 from government 3 from academia Received 3 nominations for consideration for 2006 Meetings in 2006 In conjunction with SmallStat Conference in Ames, Iowa Two telecons (early and late in the year)

3. AIAA Balloon TC Conferences and Committees Balloon TC has a technical conference every other year (odd years). 2006 was an off year. The next technical conference is planned for May of 2007 in conjunction with the Aerodynamic Decelerator TC. Much of the Balloon TC were at two other conferences and informal meetings were held COSPAR Conference in Beijing, China SmallStat Conference in Ames, Iowa Award process for the Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement Award was rewritten this past year. This was done to make it follow the guidelines set out by the AIAA Honors and Awards (H&A) subcommittee.

4. AIAA Balloon TC Ongoing and Future Efforts Providing the planning and support for the bi-annual Balloon Technical Conference. The Balloon TC has successfully co-located with the Lighter Than Air (LTA) TC two times, and will co-locate with the Aerodynamic Decelerator System (ADS) TC this next year. The Balloon TC will continue to reach out to other TCs and PCs with common technical interests (LTA, ADS, and Gossamer PC) and plan for substantive technical interchange. Provide the focal point for information exchange for ballooning The TC continues to facilitate submissions and awards for the bi- annual Otto C. Winzen Award. The TC plans to submit again to AIAA for a Student Competition, with a project focused on ballooning.

5. AIAA Balloon TC Efforts Increase public awareness of ballooning Low cost access to near space providing NASA Science Flights with large observatories launched at a fraction of the cost of space missions and cutting edge science Balloons are being used for wireless data communications in geographic regions that are not served or are poorly served by existing wireless technologies and services 2007 is the 50th anniversaries of the important Manhigh and Stratolab flights that took place in 1957 There are active programs for using balloons to provide near space communications systems for DOD and Homeland Security efforts Planetary Ballooning – Design and testing efforts are ongoing for placing balloons on other bodies in our solar system (Mars, Venus, Titan, and more!) Planetary entry system testing

6. Balloon Programs Serving the Science Community Low cost access to near space Expanding the flight capabilities Providing communication and support for commercial, DOD, and Homeland Security applications Reaching beyond Earth to other bodies in the Solar System